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Jellyfish

Jellyfish are some of the ocean's most captivating and puzzling creatures—ancient, jelly-like animals that have lived in the sea for more than 500 million years, making them one of the oldest groups of animals with multiple body parts on Earth. Let’s take a closer look at their amazing world.

Basic Biology

Jellyfish are part of the phylum Cnidaria and the subphylum Medusozoa.
This group includes classes such as Scyphozoa, which are true jellyfish, Cubozoa, which are box jellyfish, and Staurozoa, which are stalked jellyfish.

  • Their body is shaped like a bell and is mostly water, making up as much as 99% of their body.
  • Inside this bell is a soft, gel-like material called mesoglea. From the edges of the bell, long tentacles hang down. These tentacles have special cells called nematocysts that help them catch food and protect themselves.

Habitat & Behavior

  • Jellyfish can be found in all the world's oceans, from the surface to the deep sea.
  • Most jellyfish move freely through the water, but some species are attached to surfaces like seaweed and don’t move much.
  • They swim by contracting and relaxing their bell, which pushes them forward through the water.

Diet & Predators

  • Jellyfish mainly eat small fish, plankton, and tiny crustaceans like copepods.
  • They use their tentacles to trap their prey.
  • However, they can also be food for sea turtles, sharks, penguins, swordfish, and even land animals like foxes when they wash up on shore.

Notable Species

  • Moon Jellyfish are named for their clear, round bell that looks like a moon.
  • They use short tentacles and a sticky layer to catch food.
  • Irukandji Jellyfish are among the smallest, only about 0.2 inches in size, but they have very strong venom that can be deadly.
  • Lion’s Mane Jellyfish are the biggest, with bells that can be over 6 feet wide and tentacles that can stretch more than 100 feet long.

Human Interaction

  • Some types of jellyfish are eaten and considered a delicacy in parts of Asia.
  • They are used in dishes such as salads and sushi.
  • Their glowing proteins have been very important for science, especially in the study of fluorescence in microscopes.
  • Jellyfish stings can be anything from just a little uncomfortable to life-threatening, depending on the type of jellyfish.
  • Large swarms can also damage fishing nets and even cause problems at power plants.

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